Reporter
THE LEGAL representatives of industry groups affected by safeguard duties on car imports are questioning the validity of the petition for the protection measure filed by a labor group.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) applied safeguard duties after it confirmed the Philippine Metalworkers Alliance’s (PMA) claim that employment in the industry sank after imports spiked.
The Safeguard Measures Act or Republic Act No. 8800 allows domestic producers to ask the government to conduct an investigation into their import competitors if they claim to have been injured by excessive imports.
“PMA is a national union of automotive, iron, and steel workers in electronics and electrical sectors. They do not represent the domestic industry,” Rodolf C. Britanico, the legal representative of the China Chamber of Commerce for Imports and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products, said at a conference with the Tariff Commission on Wednesday.
Reporter
THE COUNTRYâS sole newsprint manufacturer is looking to restart operations in the second half after it stopped production last year.
Trust International Paper Corp. (TIPCO) had let go of 258 direct employees in June 2020 when it stopped manufacturing operations due to pandemic-related constraints, TIPCO Chief Operating Officer Edgar Pataroque told the Tariff Commission at a public hearing on Tuesday.
Mr. Pataroque said the pandemic halted the industryâs recovery from the effects of import competition.
âThe economic effect of this pandemic caused market demand to (become) severely depressed. Based on market expertsâ projections, there will be very little market demand for the companyâs products in the foreseeable future,â he said.
BusinessWorld
February 11, 2021 | 8:03 pm
THE steel industry does not expect to apply for new safeguard duties following the expiry of the last round of duties in 2019, after concluding that manufacturers have since recovered.
Industry representatives at a public hearing with the Tariff Commission on Thursday said that steelmaker Lunar Steel Corp. moved from loss to profit. The industry had doubled to 21 licensed local players from the previous 10 after the decade-long protection.
“There will be no need for an extension of the safeguard or a reapplication considering that imports are down and continues to be down during this period of pandemic,” Jose Salvador Rivera, Jr., the legal counsel of the petitioner, said after citing discussions with industry leaders.
Over the past three years, there were three domestic industries that sought protection under an old law, Republic Act No. 8800 or the Safeguard Measures Act. The primary objective of that law is to save the economic viability of a domestic industry as well as save local jobs. The process s litigious